Italy / Europe & Central Asia

Berlin, February 13, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Italian authorities to swiftly complete their investigation into the gunshots fired at four Italian television journalists on February 5 while reporting on the alleged mistreatment of two children by their family. An unknown individual shot at public broadcaster RAI1’s reporter Vito Francesco Paglia and camera…

Berlin, February 10, 2025 — Italian authorities should thoroughly investigate the targeting of the editor-in-chief of the news site Fanpage.it Francesco Cancellato’s cell phone with spyware via the WhatsApp messaging app and punish the perpetrators, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. “The attack on investigative journalist Francesco Cancellato with Paragon spyware is a serious…

Editor’s note: Cecilia Sala was freed on January 8, 2025. Press freedom organizations and the organizers of the International Journalism Festival (IJF) called on Iran on Tuesday to release Italian journalist Cecilia Sala with immediate effect. Sala was arrested in Iran on December 19 and is being held in the notorious Evin prison. Iran confirmed…

Berlin, November 15, 2024—The editorial team of the investigative television program “Report” on Italian public broadcaster RAI3 received a death threat via social media on Tuesday, November 12, saying the team “deserved it, Charlie Hebdo editorial team style,” following their reporting on the Israel-Gaza war.  The message referenced a 2015 terrorist attack targeting the offices…

New York, October 9, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Italian authorities to end all legal proceedings against investigative journalist Simone Innocenti, charged with leaking “official secrets” in connection with his reporting, following an October 4 appeals court decision to uphold the legality of the search of his home and seizure of his devices. “The Italian appeals court’s…

Berlin, October 8, 2024—Russian authorities should immediately cancel the arrest warrants issued in absentia for Italian journalists Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini, charged with illegal border crossing following their August 14 report on the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. “The arrest warrants for Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini are a clear attempt to intimidate and…

The Committee to Protect Journalists and more than 70 other signatories, including Italian and international press freedom groups and European media outlets, called on Italy on Tuesday to respect the right to report, rather than risk criminalizing journalism by prosecuting three reporters with Italy’s Domani newspaper in order to identify their sources. In a leaks…

On July 4, 2023, several aggressors physically shoved Italian RAI public television reporter Lorenzo Santorelli and his crew on Lampedusa island, preventing their live broadcast on migrant arrivals, according to Santorelli and media reports. A group of about 10 approached the crew shortly before 8 pm as they were awaiting their on-air segment, accused them…

Berlin, March 14, 2022—Italian authorities should drop any investigation into the Domani newspaper and ensure that members of the press do not face criminal charges for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On March 3, two uniformed carabinieri officers arrived at the newsroom of independent private daily newspaper Domani in Rome, according…

Berlin, November 2, 2022—Italian authorities should immediately drop criminal defamation charges against journalists Danilo Lupo, Francesca Pizzolante, and Mary Tota and stop using the country’s criminal code to prosecute journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On October 17, 2022, prosecutors in Lecce, a town in southern Italy, requested a prison sentence of six…